


you're a masterpiece to me

by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)



Series: omgcp [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Cutesy, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, Modeling, Nude Modeling, Painting, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 03:18:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8311999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/ericaismeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericaismeg/pseuds/foxerica
Summary: Shitty poses for Lardo's art project in the nude. Well, not technically the nude. He does have Calvin Klein underwear on.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [erciareyes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/erciareyes/gifts).



> so I guess I write for omgcp now??

 

Shitty rubs his hands together, tapping his foot against the floor. He glances over at Larissa, who is peeking over the side of her canvas to look at him. She doesn’t look impressed right now. He gives her the best apologetic expression he can muster.

“Dude, would you sit still?” Lardo asks, shaking her head as if she doesn’t know what to do with him. Shitty lets out a small, nervous laugh before looking away again.

He’s always helping her out with her latest art projects, but this is the first time he’s posed _nude_ for one. Well, technically, he’s not nude. He’s in his boxer briefs - Calvin Klein. He bought them yesterday, because he knew that Lardo would be staring at him for a couple hours and he wanted her to think that he could have some sort of class. When she’d seen them, she’d tilted her head back, laughed, and asked him where his usual underwear was. He should’ve figured she was expecting him to show up in his loose yellow duck boxers that he’s had for far too long.

Shitty knows that this project is important to her. It’s her final piece for this series she’s been working on all semester. He’s not sure why or how a nude(ish) painting of him fits in, but he’s always happy to help. Lardo is the most important person to him. She has been ever since she looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Fuck you, Shitty.” He’d been teasing her about something, and Lardo was not the type of person to put up with it. He had apologized and she’d given him a curt nod.

Things had changed after that. Lardo and Shitty had become inseparable. He’s drawn to her in ways he’d never been with another person before. She’s the one he can tell anything and everything to; she’s got his back and he’s got hers. He can be almost naked in front of her without fear of judgement - literally and figuratively.

“What’s going on with you?” Lardo asks, with a sigh. She peeks at him again. “You’ve been acting really weird lately.”

“Have not,” Shitty says, instantly. It’s a reflex more than anything.

“Shitty, I know you. Something’s on your mind.”

_I’m in love with you._ Shitty bites his tongue, and doesn’t say anything. Lardo doesn’t press him. She never does. He’s not sure how to tell his best friend that he has feelings for her. Lardo never indicated that she has any feelings for him, and he’s not about to make her life complicated.

Lardo has to focus on her final art project. He knows how much the end of this semester means to her, and he can’t mess it up with mixed feelings. Shitty realizes that he needs to scratch his nose, and does it quickly. 

“Shitty!” Lardo says, but there’s nothing but laughter in her voice. He smiles.

“Love you,” he says, because it’s not a big deal. They say that all the time.

“Love you too,” she responds, equally casual.

He thinks about the first time he realized he was in love with her. She’d been covered in paint, her hair had been longer then - pulled up in this ridiculously messy pony tail, and her smile had been bright. She’d been so excited about her project that she’d run at him with full-speed, throwing her arms around his neck, and dangling off him for a moment before he’d gotten his grip on her hips.

She’d been so free, so happy. He had probably been in love with her before, but that was the first instance that he knew. Larissa had been the only one who had managed to truly understand who Shitty is. She never pressures, never oversteps, and yet she is the strongest person he knows. She fights for what she believes in, and she gets what she wants. She’s not afraid to tell Shitty exactly what she thinks.

He sneaks a glance at Lardo. She’s got a small smile on her face when they make eye contact. Because he’s glancing again. Like he’s been doing all day because she’s absolutely breathtaking when she’s in her art mode.

“Okay. I am done.”

“Already?” he asks, shifting.

“We’ve been here for five hours.”

“ _Five_ hours?” Shitty exclaims, swinging his head to look at her. “No way.”

“Yes, way. You’ve been a pretty decent model. And we shall celebrate with dinner once you get clothes on,” Lardo announces. She stands up, brushing some paint on her smock.

“Right-o,” Shitty says, getting up. He stretches before walking over to the table where he’d lain his clothes and picking up his pants. Pulling them on, he looks at Lardo. She’s starting to clean her station. “Can I see it?”

She looks up at him. “Not yet.”

Shitty feels a little disappointed, but he won’t tell her that. Instead, he grabs his shirt and yanks it on. He hovers for a moment. “I’ll meet you at the Haus?”

Lardo lifts her head. “Are you really going to leave without asking me the question you’ve been dying to ask me?”

“Love is the jelly to sunshine’s peanut butter. And if I tell you that I’m in sandwich with you, I’m not just saying it to get in your Ziploc bag,” he blurts.

“Wait, _what?”_ Lardo says, scrunching her face in confusion.

Shitty groans, putting a face to his hand. He drags it down. “Oh god, okay, that’s not what I meant. I just…I meant…Larissa, I–do you think…I’m really muddling this up, aren’t I?”

She nods, trying to suppress a laugh. “What is going on, Shitty? I’ve noticed you were a little tense today, but even this is a bit much for you.”

He shakes his head. “You know what, forget it. I’m just going to go. I’ll meet you at the Haus. Then we can go out and–”

“Love is the jelly to sunshine’s peanut butter,” Lardo repeats, speaking slowly. “And if you tell me that you’re in sandwich with me…you’re not trying to get into my Ziploc bag.”

“Great, okay. Can we pretend that didn’t happen? I just–” He starts to walk away when Lardo stops him by clearing her throat.

“Shitty. Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, Larissa.”

“Were you trying to tell me that you like me? Is that what that was?”

He puts his hand on the back of his neck, without looking at her, and nods. “Yeah. Yeah. Have for a while now.”

“Shitty, come here.”

He’s not sure what to expect, but Lardo holds her hand out to him. He crosses the art room and finds himself reaching out to put his hand in hers. She pulls him beside her, and faces the painting.

It’s him, but it’s not a typical painting. He can see himself in it. His face, it’s right there. But there are swirls of colours, a glint in his eye, and somehow, she’d managed to capture him at his most vulnerable. He’s not sure how she had done it, but his lips part in awe.

“Larissa…”

“I feel the same way about you, doofus,” she says, looking up. “In fact, you should see my other stuff. I was going to surprise you, but I realize that maybe waiting isn’t a good idea. You’ll start doubting yourself and we can’t have that. Come with me?” 

He nods, letting her lead him. She takes him to the back storage room of the art room. She pushes the door open, flicks on the light, and steps in further. Shitty isn’t sure what he’s looking at on the first glance.

“What is all–Lardo,” Shitty whispers. “Fuck.”

“What–”

“This is from the first time we met. You recreated our first fight and–”

Lardo laughs, letting him wander around her various pieces. He’s looking at sculptures made from the pieces of metal he helped her with the first time they worked on a project together, collages filled with movie stubs and photos, and she’s done an entire 3D piece with the rubber duck he’d given to her for her birthday as the center piece. Shitty walks around the room. He spots a large photograph of his face. It’s so up close, you can see every detail of his pimple. There’s a small digital frame, filled with random snap shots of videos and photos.

“You did all this?” Shitty asks, looking at her.

“Yeah,” she answers, and he’s pretty sure that’s the first time she’s blushed. “I chose to do a multi-media project on the person who means the most to me; the person who has shaped me the most. You’re my best friend, B–Shitty.”

He lets out a small laugh of disbelief. Then Shitty does the one thing that he has never felt comfortable doing but he’s thought about it so many times. Shitty crosses the room, slips his hand around the back of Larissa’s head, and kisses her.

“God, I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” Larissa breathes when he pulls away.

“I have a suggestion for one of your pieces, if you will.” She looks up at him, eyes wide. Shitty smiles. “We should roll around in paint on a piece of paper while we…”

Lardo laughs, swatting him. “Just how long have you been thinking of doing that?”

“Far too long,” Shitty admits. He takes a deep breath. “What does this mean for us now?”

She touches his cheek. “I think we should go out for that dinner and talk about it.”

“Sounds like a date,” he says, smiling. He leans down to kiss her again.”Mmm, I could do this all day.”

“You could,” Lardo whispers. “Or you could let me take you out for a nice dinner since you’ve been sitting still for five hours with only a few breaks.”

“I _guess._ If we must,” Shitty teases. He slips his hand in hers and they start walking out of the room. Lardo flicks off the light and locks the door. “What are we going to tell the others?”

“Let’s keep them guessing,” Lardo answers. “After all, I’m pretty sure Bitty and Jack have been sneaking around our backs.”

“Wait, _what?”_

“How have you _not_ noticed, Shity? The way Eric gets all pink when anyone even mentions Jack. His baking has gone through the roof. His–oh! I have to put the painting into the room. Hang on a second?”

Shitty nods, staring after her. _Bitty and Jack?_ No. That can’t be. Unless…Lardo is usually right about these things. His eyes grow wide. _Oh shit._ He has some apologizing to do. He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

When Lardo walks up to him again, she says, “You’re thinking about all of the Jack’s girlfriend jokes you’ve made recently, aren’t you?”

“So many,” Shitty says, grimacing. “Think they’ll forgive me?”

“I know they will. But we’ll wait until they tell us. Come on, let’s get out of here. I am _starving._ ”

Shitty throws an arm around Lardo’s shoulders and pulls her in close. She starts talking about when she came up with the idea for the metal sculpture, and how she had no use for the original piece but it meant so much to her. Shitty realizes as she talks about how she’d had this huge elaborate (and admittedly, cheesy) plan to show him everything at the end of the year show, he’s the luckiest person on earth.

He kisses the top of her head when they reach the elevator. Lardo stops talking to look up at him. Shitty knows her well enough to know that the smile she wears is one of her six smiles - the one that’s just for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr.](http://www.ericadays.tumblr.com)


End file.
